Rosuvastatin calcium [7-[4-(4-fluorophenyl)-6-isopropyl-2-(N-methyl-N-methylsulfonylamino)pyrimidin-5-yl]-(3R,5S)-dihydroxy-(E)-6-heptenoic acid calcium] of formula (I) is disclosed in U.S. RE37314 assigned to Shionogi & Company Limited (Japan), an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor that can lower LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides levels more effectively than first generation statin drugs. Rosuvastatin calcium is marketed under the name of CRESTOR.
The process for preparation of Rosuvastatin Calcium of formula (I) is disclosed in WO2006091771, US20070167625, WO2007041666, US20110124864, WO2012063115, US20060089501 and U.S. RE37314. The process disclosed in these references should undergo repeated purification procedures and also uses expensive reagents.
Therefore, it would be desirable and of paramount importance to have a process for the preparation of Rosuvastatin Calcium of formula (I), by employing inexpensive, readily available, easy to handle reagents. It would also be desirable to have a process that can be readily scaled up and which does not require a special purification step, thereby making it more suitable for industrial scale preparation.